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Recognized Brands
Recognized Brands 2020
Issue: The 10 Hottest Brands to Watch out in 2021
ThePowerHouse: Redefining Fashion with the Power of Technology
Fashion is an emerging industry with the introduction of creative and new trends every day. The fashion landscape has experienced an extensive change over the years that has made fashion a promising industry. An important dimension that has scaled the progress and growth of fashion brands is technology, which gave birth to FashionTech companies.
When Albert Einstein said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same kind of thinking we used when we created them", we might have just appreciated it as a great quote, but Lisa Lang based the foundation of ThePowerHouse on this innovative thought. Lang is the Founder and CEO of ThePowerHouse which is a leading innovation agency for FashionTech and wearable technology. Focusing widely on prototyping, consulting, matchmaking, research and education, ThePowerHouse loves taking on challenges and ideas that have never been created before. They understand the reality of manufacturing in the fashion industry and how technology fits and does not fit within the current manufacturing ecosystem.
Lisa leads her team of enthusiastic professionals into finding creative solutions to every challenge. ThePowerHouse is Lang's Entrepreneurial venture that has seen a phenomenal growth since its inception. Although her journey witnessed numerous impediments, Lang achieved every goal with passion and determination setting milestones of success after every challenge. The growth of ThePowerHouse is a proof of her success. Lang shares her incredible thoughts on the success of ThePowerHouse in this exclusive article that is an inspiration for every aspiring businessmind.
The Foundation of ThePowerHouse
ThePowerHouse was born due to the success of the group's first brand, ElektroCouture. It all started with a focus on fashion technology and the idea that women can be beautiful and smart at the same time. Before ThePowerHouse, with ElektroCouture they were literally the light and their mission was to make their things smart and shiny. Lang and her team started talking about it, while going on stage and shining with their creations and inventions. This attracted the interest of many fashion and technology companies who started approaching them for answers and solutions. ThePowerHouse saw an opportunity there. They saw the opportunity to merge the two worlds. The world of fashion and technology. Worlds that did not know how to merge.
Lang knew, the real problem was that the two industries do not associate with each other – especially fashion with technology. With this she also knew that somebody had to build bridges. "And as it happens, it is me, us, ThePowerHouse that connect the dots. The fashion houses had technology. The technology houses had no idea about fashion. It was very funny.", Lang shares. They then decided to found ThePowerHouse as a basic consultancy agency and now, over the years, they are already involved in numerous international projects: they publish trends reports, they advise the European Commission, they have mentorship programs and they help in education on how companies can evolve by adopting wearable technology.
Overcoming the Challenges
"We like to see our challenges as opportunities. But we had some obstacles along the way, of course.", says, Lang.
Lang thought when you want to start a fashion brand, you start by designing a dress, and usually you would go to a seamstress or you would sew it yourself and then put it on the market. But if you create something at the intersection (in the middle of the world of fashion and technology) who will you turn to?
This surreal link between two opposite industries became the recurring challenge, over the years, that Lang and her team have been overcoming. Recently, in 2019, they felt the need to open a third company that solves the problem. That gave birth to OFundamentO, focused on manufacturing solutions and how to reprogram the machines. Lang has grown as a person and as a leader. From experience she learned that it is not possible to move a mountain during the day. Therefore, Lang now intends to move one stone at a time, with the understanding that changes come with time.
The Services of ThePowerHouse
The team of ThePowerHouse is responsible for innovating and helping their consumers to create new things, which according to the clients, were impossible.
ThePowerHouse offers education programs for companies that are interested in understanding how to innovate. So, they run workshops internally, where they explain it in a way, so they understand it. They also do prototype services and have a lot of universities seeking them for, development of new courses for a new form of education. ThePowerHouse also advise governments, museums, universities on new strategies. In fact, it is a classic consultancy agency that has been growing over the years and they have already had the opportunity to get involved in very interesting projects.
ThePowerHouse is not just a consulting firm, it is totally different. "We believe that, for our clients, we should teach them how to fish. Indeed, we do not simply give them a fish, which is the case for most consulting agencies.", says, Lang. ThePowerHouse knows the reality of manufacturing. They know the intersection. They are aware of how to connect technology with design in a unique and special way. ThePowerHouse love working with people; they are totally involved in each project, and always give extra and the best for their customers to ensure they are well and happy and achieve their goals.
The biggest asset that ThePowerHouse has is their network and contacts in the area, which is huge. As a result, they will always find someone known who will help them and get them in contact with the right people. "So, that means that you could end up in a room with an astronaut, robotic engineer, biotechnology scientist and the old couture designer because that is the team (and this is not just the beginning of a bad joke).", Lang titters.
The Scope and Growth of FashionTech
Technology represents new opportunities and ThePowerHouse believes that the job of the designer is to learn technology. Technology is a tool, and you must learn a new tool like you have to learn to use a needle or the sewing machine. According to ThePowerHouse this will be the new normal which defines the scope of technology in fashion. Lang feels, perhaps fashion needs rethinking, have a new function, and go beyond what it simply is. Is it not the future that dresses change color? Just think, the one dress instead of 5 identical pieces with just different colors. Do we not want clothing that suits our body? We do not simply have an S, M, or L body; we are all different. This is the importance of technology in design and fashion. Change things. Innovate. Provide more functions and make lives simpler and easier. In a short answer, technology will give new life to fashion.
In the fashion world, technology is an important and innovative strategy for finding new products and new markets. As a leader of this industry, Lang has observed that innovation is the biggest change.
"We at ThePowerHouse are helping people to make that faster. Because, after all, our merchandise is time and experience.", she adds. Using their experience with their network and ability, helps people very quickly by saving time. And time is important, because you must be very quick to understand what has changed in the industry. Speed is the secret, and that is what ThePowerHouse has that is different. With the introduction of new technologies, the exchange of information has increased. Consumers are much more impatient. And this constant change and alteration in the market, puts enormous pressure on companies. They cannot afford to start from scratch.
And that is why, ThePowerHouse, arrived like a rocket and helped them innovate.
The Role of a Responsible Leader
Lisa Lang is the CEO of ThePowerHouse and is passionate for its growth. Her role at the company is essentially to give her team the right tools and provide them with the best environment and the best culture so they can be the best and can deliver their best work.
"I like it and I want to feel that people are happy, that they learn something in the company, and that there is a purpose in everything they do.", Lang shares. "In fact, at ThePowerHouse they are all like a kind of birth mother or coach, who help their consumers to give birth to their new babies. And yes, all of our work comes with a lot of pain, dedication, and long hours of work, but always with a lot of joy. And that makes everything so rewarding and fulfilling. Not just for me, but for the whole team.", she adds.
The company has seen an exponential growth under her resourceful guidance. Their success is measured by the impact on their customers. Lang can confidently say that in the last few years, everything that has been around the themes of wearable technology, especially fashion tech, ThePowerHouse has been involved in some way.
"Actually, for me, success is the impact we had with our work, though not everyone knows we were a part of it. But for me, it's enough that we know we've been a part of it.", says a successful business leader, Lisa Lang.
The Roadmap for the Future of ThePowerHouse
Although Lang cannot reveal her whole idea for the future of ThePowerHouse, she can confirm that they will continue to work even more with Policy Advisory, Education Advisory and with interesting and relevant research. They are working on a whole new concept of the new age of education. So, they need to focus from next year onwards as the powers will be a lot like technology education in the creative industry sector.
And that means there must be new rules, new setups, new people, new teachers, new students, and you must write new concepts around that. And that is what ThePowerHouse plans to do. In other words, ThePowerHouse will be busy writing the future.
ThePowerHouse is already living their vision each day. Every day they work towards their vision, essentially increasingly becoming experts and advisers to governments and rethinking new strategies for fashion tech. Their vision basically involves doing what they already do today, but logically, always stronger, with more people, more companies, and more partners. And above all, always more beautiful and smarter at the same time.
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Home Metro FCT Police Commence Investigation Into Kubwa Shooting, Abduction
FCT Police Commence Investigation Into Kubwa Shooting, Abduction
By Monday Ijeh
Abuja, – The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has commenced investigations into a reported case of armed robbery, shooting and abduction of some persons in Kubwa area of Abuja.
A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the FCT, DSP Josephine Adeh on Wednesday in Abuja said the incident occurred on Tuesday at Relocation Estate, off Arab Road in Kubwa.
She said the prompt response by operatives of the command led to the rescue of three victims and recovery of firearms and ammunition, including one AK47 rifle and 25 rounds of ammunition.
Adeh said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects invaded the estate at about 7:30 p.m. and started shooting sporadically where two persons were affected.
"While departing the scene, the suspects left with four victims, possibly, to enable them evade arrest by the police response team deployed to the area.
"The two gunshot victims were immediately rushed to the hospital for medical attention, but unfortunately one of them was confirmed dead by a doctor in the hospital, while the other is responding to treatment," she said.
Adeh enjoined residents of the area to remain calm, adding that the command had deployed intelligence and other operational asset to fortify security in Kubwa and its environs.
She said investigation was on to identify the suspects and bring them to book.
Adeh also urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious situation through: 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883.
She added that residents should also reach out to the command's Public Complaint Bureau telephone number 09022222352. (NAN)
Police investigation
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2023: Police embark on aggressive Stop-And-Search Operations in Sokoto

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Dua Lipa is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco-pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Grammy Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, two Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award, and two Guinness World Records. "No Lie" and "New Rules", each have over 1 billion views on YouTube, with "New Rules" having reached over 2.7 billion views. After working as a model, she signed with Warner Bros. Records in 2014 and released her eponymous debut album in 2017. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and yielded eight singles, including "Be the One", "IDGAF", and the UK number-one single "New Rules", which also peaked at number six in the US. The album has been certified platinum in numerous countries worldwide and won Lipa the Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act in 2018.
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Dua Lipa gets into the holiday spirit at home with her dog and some snacks near the Christmas tree


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Iraq in Crisis: Why the Sinjar Agreement Failed
May 5, 2022 Topic: Iraq Region: Middle East Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: Sinjar AgreementSinjarIraqYezidiIraqi KurdistanISIS
Sinjar needs a transformative political solution led by Yezidis and supported by significant international investment.
by Meghan Bodette
On May 2, clashes broke out between the Iraqi Army and the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a Yezidi armed group established to defend Iraq's Sinjar region from ISIS in 2014. Initial reports have alleged casualties on both sides and the displacement of thousands of civilians. The Iraqi Army has reportedly given the YBS an ultimatum to withdraw—though the group's fighters are Iraqi Yezidis from Sinjar themselves.
The return of conflict to Sinjar, almost eight years after the Yezidi Genocide began, is a result of failed policies at the local, regional, and international levels. Early responses have zeroed in on symptoms, not root causes, suggesting that instability will continue. Such a future would be devastating for Yezidi civilians first and foremost, and for peace and security in Iraq and the region overall.
Currently, the primary diplomatic line of effort to stabilize the region is the Sinjar Agreement between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which was put forward in October 2020.
The agreement was endorsed by a variety of international actors, including the United States and Turkey. Yet it excluded the most important perspectives: those of the Yezidi community itself. As written, it would dismantle the YBS entirely, a fate the group has promised to resist.
Baked into the agreement was the assumption that Baghdad and Erbil ought to have a greater say in Sinjar's fate than the region's residents. This set it up for failure from the outset and reinforced the dynamics that led to Sinjar's current crisis.
Yezidis have faced structural discrimination and periodic violence throughout the entire history of modern Iraq. They have never been fully or fairly represented by the Iraqi central government or the KRG. The fact that neither proved able or willing to defend the region from ISIS' genocidal onslaught was a deadly manifestation of this history.
The involvement of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Sinjar in August 2014, cited erroneously by some as the root of today's challenges, stemmed from this reality as well. These forces entered the region to fight ISIS, protect civilians, and provide training and assistance to Yezidis who wanted to fight back themselves.
Had the ISIS attack been prevented by local authorities or met with an immediate response by any regional or international power, there would have been no need for lightly armed non-state actors to step in. The fact that such groups were able to mount a successful humanitarian evacuation shows how simple an effective response would have been for governments if they simply had the political will to act at the time.
Punishing Yezidis for accepting military assistance when their survival was at stake and attempting to disarm genocide survivors by force, as the Sinjar Agreement seeks to do, will not lead to sustainable peace in Sinjar. This week's clashes show that such an approach has only made the situation more volatile, with civilians paying the highest price.
What Sinjar needs today is a transformative political solution with deep and comprehensive roots—led by Yezidis and supported by significant international investment.
Attempts to determine the status of the region must not pick and choose which local perspectives to include, nor which external forces to exclude. Yezidis in Sinjar today have joined a variety of armed groups and lent their support to a variety of political structures. Many more live as internally displaced persons (IDP) in camps in Iraqi Kurdistan, unable to return home after nearly eight years. A process led by people from Sinjar and facilitated by impartial international mediation could include the diverse opinions and perspectives held by Yezidis and block external power plays.
Such a solution should give Sinjar a significant degree of local control over its security. Sinjar's residents must never again be in a position where their security is dependent on outside actors that failed to respond to ISIS in 2014. Rather than forcing any existing Yezidi faction to disarm or outsourcing security to actors with little local trust, a potential settlement could integrate all local armed groups into a single structure.
Any settlement should also grant Yezidis meaningful political power. The prominence of competing external interests in Sinjar stems in part from the political marginalization of Yezidis in Iraq and the historic co-optation of the region's politics by Iraqi central and Kurdish regional authorities. Strengthening political institutions and political participation in Sinjar could push back on this trend and create a foundation for peace and coexistence.
Existing Iraqi law has mechanisms under which communities can gain autonomy in local political and military matters while remaining integrated with the central government. These possibilities should be explored based on local perspectives and needs.
To make such a process successful, Sinjar must be free from armed conflict. Impartial authorities must work to end the current tensions between the Iraqi Army and the YBS as soon as possible and take steps to prevent future violence instigated by any local or foreign actor.
This must include the closure of Sinjar's airspace to all military aircraft, excluding counter-ISIS missions. Turkish airstrikes and drone strikes in the region have destroyed civilian infrastructure and prevented the return of IDP. Turkey has also assassinated respected Iraqi Yezidi community leaders, leaving the region without figures who could have played roles in diplomacy and dialogue.
The international community must also invest in reconstruction. No sustainable political or security arrangement can function if communities lack the basic resources that they need to live. Sinjar was poor and underdeveloped before the war, another impact of the structural discrimination and marginalization Yezidis faced. Increased reconstruction efforts could facilitate IDP returns and incentivize different political and military factions to work together to gain international support and legitimacy.
A secure and empowered Sinjar governed and protected by its own people and at peace with other local authorities is the only path forward to ensure justice for Yezidi genocide survivors, prevent future atrocities, and ensure long-term stability in the region. Abandoning the Sinjar Agreement and pursuing comprehensive, creative, and locally-driven solutions could make it a reality.
Meghan Bodette is the Director of Research at the Kurdish Peace Institute.


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CARICOM Describes Almagro's Statements on Venezuela as Inappropriate
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) described as inappropriate the statements by Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), after recognizing Juan Guaido as the self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela.
The OAS Plays Judas in the Americas
It is time for the peoples of the region to wake up and expose the onslaught against Venezuela and Nicaragua
Cuba Lashes Out at OAS for Hostile Action on US Order
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (Minrex, in Spanish) has denounced a new hostile action by the Organization of American States (OAS), acting on orders of the US Government.
Published in Cuba News
Another Victory for Venezuela in the OAS
The United States recently submitted another Resolution to suspend Venezuela from the Organization of American States (OAS). However, the proposal failed to secure the 24 votes needed to pass, with 19 in favor, four against and 11 abstentions
Cuba Condemned OAS Resolution Against Venezuela
Cuba condemned today a resolution against Venezuela approved at the 48th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), considering it an interference in the internal affairs of that South American country.
Venezuela Highlights Caribbean Solidarity in the OAS
Caracas.-The Venezuelan Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Samuel Moncada, thanked Caribbean countries June 19 for their solidarity, which put a stop to the interventionist aims of this regional body against this South American nation.
Meeting in Mexico Supports Maduro and Denounces OAS Interference
Mexico.- An international forum that began today in this city was a space to express support for the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Madro, denounce the OAS interventionist measures and the violence unleashed by the Venezuelan right.
Legislators approved three new laws and addressed a variety of issues of special importance to th
The sale of reservations for the new Chinese train cars began last Wednesday at the railroad stat


Extrasensory perception record-keeping book, The Rhine Research Center, Durham, N.C.
DURHAM, N.C. — Often referred to as the sixth sense, extrasensory perception is the receipt of information through psychic abilities. The Rhine Research Center in Durham is dedicated to the study of extrasensory perception and other forms of parapsychology — paranormal psychic phenomena.
Such research began in Durham at Duke University in 1935, when Joseph Banks Rhine led a professional study of parapsychology.
In 1965, Rhine started the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man and moved the center off campus. Banks passed away in 1980, and in 1995, his center was renamed The Rhine Research Center.
Today, the center is less than a mile from Duke's campus in the first-ever facility to be built for the experimental work of parapsychology.
The Rhine provides group tours of its facility and museum. Tours and motorcoach parking must be arranged in advance.
"Along with an introductory talk about the history of The Rhine and our research, groups are given a guided tour through the research labs," said Susan Freeman, events coordinator and public relations director at the center.
The center continues to produce original research on the nature of human consciousness.
Historic parapsychology research, The Rhine Research Center, Durham, N.C.
The center's library is in possession of rare and out-of-date books on various extrasensory perception subjects, as well as several historic pieces of equipment that were once used for research.
In addition to tours, the center offers meetings, where groups may discuss psychic experiences; remote viewing practices, where groups without prior training can participate in remote viewing; workshops; presentations; and other educational opportunities.
For more information, call (919) 309-4600 or visit www.rhine.org.


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How the Challenger Disaster Changed My Life
Wade Roush
@soonishpodcast
The space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff on January 28, 1986—twenty-five years ago today. The disaster took the lives of six astronauts and one schoolteacher, and shook NASA to its core. Like other televised national traumas, it burned itself into the memories of millions of people. I was just a spectator to the catastrophe, watching speechless and horrified along with everyone else as the video clips were played and replayed on television. But that day altered the direction of my life in unusually concrete ways, and I can't let the anniversary pass without a bit of reflection.
In January 1986 I was a 19-year-old freshman at Harvard College. On the morning of January 28, I was working on an assignment in the computer room at the university's science center, and a student who had just taken a seat at the terminal next to mine mentioned the accident. I didn't believe him at first. But he seemed serious enough about the story to make me nervous.
This was years before the advent of the Web—I couldn't simply log on and check the news. So I got up and literally ran back to my dorm room, where my roommates and I had a small color TV. I remember thinking, as I charged through Harvard Yard, that the story couldn't possibly be true. Hadn't the shuttle traveled safely into space dozens of times before? Didn't the engineers at NASA know how to prevent such a disaster? But sure enough, when I turned on the TV, there were the images of the spaceship disintegrating against an azure sky, sending tendrils of smoke and flames in all directions.
Like many people that day, I spent hours watching the coverage unfold, culminating with President Reagan's eloquent televised address. The horror of the event was immediate for me. It was awful to imagine what the seven crew members must have experienced as the shuttle broke up, and to realize what a huge setback the accident represented for the U.S. space program, which I had followed with zeal since I was old enough to watch TV.
But the disaster's real influence settled in only over the next several months, as investigators such as physicist Richard Feynman worked out the chain of events that had led to the explosion. As it turned out, a rubber O-ring in one of the solid rocket boosters, stiffened by that morning's cold weather, had failed, allowing flames to burst through, in turn causing the shuttle's main fuel tank to explode. It was such a predictable and seemingly preventable problem that for the first time in my life I began to question NASA's competence, and to understand just how important the human element in any large technological system can be. On a broader level, I began to look at all technological and scientific endeavors with a much more skeptical—-one might even say disillusioned—eye.
I had a work-study job that year doing data analysis for an X-ray astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Within weeks after the accident it was clear that the massive satellite that this astronomer had been helping to design, which had been scheduled to go into space aboard a shuttle, would be delayed for years while NASA retrenched. This was a big professional blow for him, and for many other scientists whose instruments could only get into space aboard the shuttle; it affected the whole mood at the center over the following months. This, in turn, contributed to my own growing disenchantment with the job and with my long-cherished idea of becoming an astronomer or astrophysicist. (I hasten to add that I wasn't very good at math, which would have derailed my plans eventually anyway.)
By the end of my sophomore year, less than a year and a half after the Challenger disaster, I had decided to switch majors from physics and astronomy to the history of science. In this discipline, my professors encouraged me to think skeptically about ideas that I had previously accepted uncritically, such as "American know-how" and the inevitability of technological progress. Eventually I went on to graduate studies in the history of technology at MIT and wrote a doctoral thesis about the social and political effects of technological disasters. That, in turn, helped launch me on a career in science and technology journalism. (Though there were also plenty of other influences—such as my unexpected detour into campus journalism at the Harvard Independent, and a chance encounter with Carl Sagan. But that's another story.)
For me, the Challenger disaster hit at the moment when I was perhaps most impressionable—when I was in the middle of defining my world-view and choosing my future. It taught me that the world was full of risks I hadn't contemplated; that America was not invulnerable; that extravagant endeavours can go extravagantly wrong. These are all lessons that people slightly older than myself probably learned from Vietnam, Apollo 13, and Watergate—and we certainly relearned them as a nation when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11 and the shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry in 2003. But for me, Challenger was the veil-lifting moment. And it's all still symbolized in my mind by the iconic TV images of the exploding spacecraft, its twin boosters veering across the sky like ghostly fireworks.
This article is adapted from an essay I originally wrote for the book A Creative Guide to Exploring Your Life by Graham Gordon Ramsay and Holly Barlow Sweet (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2009). Republished by permission.
Wade Roush is the producer and host of the podcast Soonish and a contributing editor at Xconomy. Follow @soonishpodcast
6 responses to "How the Challenger Disaster Changed My Life"
Erika J says:
Thanks for sharing your recollections of this tragedy, Wade, and the influence it had on your own life. wonderfully written!
Wade Appelman says:
I remember the disaster too as a Sr. in college. Enjoyed your reflections and marvel on how life takes curious turns.
ps … great first name :) Not many of us!
Ellen Leanse says:
Thoughtful words, Wade. Memory of the news is still etched in my mind; it was a busy day at Apple when we all just slowed to a stop and felt the thud of the news. It was a loss of innocence; a sense of something that just couldn't happen – but did. Seeing the photograph of the smoke trail, even after all these years, sent a jolt through me. A tragedy and a reminder of many lessons such as those you've shared here.
Dan Weinreb says:
Wade, I remember when this happened and how shocking it was. Later on, when I had time to reflect, I thought about how utterly amazing it is that the US manned space program had gone so far, with so many missions, having not a single loss of life in space, ever. I don't mean to be unfeeling, but going up on a rocket is inherently an extremely dangerous thing to do. That said, the subsequent root-cause analysis showed fundamental systemic problems in which getting things done on time was given priority over safety at Morton-Thiokol, which was reprehensible.
Loiri Scribner says:
Nice piece Wade. These major tragedies that touch us all really define us as a nation, and also personally. I put Vietnam, Watergate, 9/11 and the Challenger at the top of the list of events that have in some way made me who I am today.
Lori (not Loiri:)


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RUMOR - Paramount spent $35 million reworking the Sonic the Hedgehog movie (UPDATE)
Not exactly chump change
by rawmeatcowboy
GoNintendoGN Version 5.0
The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer pretty much lead to an internet meltdown, and not in a good way. People were horrifed by the design that was being used, and the backlash was loud and swift. Surprisingly, Paramount actually listened and pushed the film back to rework Sonic's design.
The film is now due out Valentine's Day, and the redesign of Sonic has gone over extremely well. Of course, all that comes at a cost. While the animators involved certainly have to work overtime, we're hearing that Paramount actually spent another $35 million getting things together. That pushed the budget for the movie from 90 million to 125 million.
Thanks to Dondom95 for the heads up!
UPDATE - We have a second report on the redesign, which gives a different figure. According to a source close to the product says that the character redesign cost Paramount less than $5 million. This was because most of the film's VFX work wasn't done, and what was seen in the trailer was among the few 'final' scenes that were done. With that said, there's still a lot of marketing costs involved with the redesign as well, which could account for the rest of the money quoted in the original report. Thanks to OperationGamer17 for the heads up!
[Link, Link]


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Now you're 28 weeks pregnant, this week is all about counting your baby kicks, choosing a baby sling, birth hypnotherapy and kale risotto!
Dem bones, dem bones, dem baby bones: development job nearly done here now although they're still very soft and flexible. Your baby may also be able to recognise your voice. And stick his or her tongue out – no connection, of course!
You're probably getting used to the (lovely) feeling of your baby moving in your womb – and what started out as little flutters is slowly but surely changing in something more like little kicks – and now's the time to start counting those kicks.
Pick a time when your baby's active (drink a cold drink!) then lie on your side and count all the times your baby moves till you reach 10.
This might take as little as 30 minutes but give yourself a couple of hours, if you need it. Do this every day, recording how long it takes. If ever you don't get to 10 in the 2 hours or if the usual pattern of movement changes significantly, call your midwife.
How often should I feel my baby kick each week?
Are you keeping track of your bump with weekly pics? Check out other MFMers' belfies in our 28 week bump gallery.
This week, your baby measures 37.6cm from head to heel – that's around the same as 2 fruitcakes side by side.
Your baby now weighs around 2lb 3oz (1kg)!
Can hypnotherapy help your labour?
Is it safe… to eat honey?
Don't believe the old wives' tale. Honey is safe in pregnancy – it's just babies who shouldn't have any until they're over a year old.
What kind of ice cream isn't cool to eat?
Ok, so it can smell a bit cabbagey when you cook it but kale scores megapoints on the 'good for you in pregnancy' front. Full of vitamin A, iron and calcium – which your body needs more and more as in your last trimester to strengthen your baby's bones – a portion of kale also packs in more vitamin C than spinach.
Oh, and if you're getting leg cramps, get the kale on: it's high in the potassium that you're probably a bit low in.
Baby namer – what do you think of these Irish names?
Tallulah is an alternative spelling for Tallula – the name of 2 Irish saints. It means leaping water in Gaelic.
Celeb baby-name-check: Simon Le Bon named his 3rd daughter Tallulah.
A Gaelic name that means poet or storyteller, Tadgh is pronounced as the first syllable in tiger – without the 'er' ending.
Celeb baby-name-check: Una Healy named her 1st son Tadhg.
Not sure about these? Take a look at our Baby Names section for lots more suggestions.


text:
The Case For A Copper Age Indo-European Expansion
Marnie at the Linear Population Model blog takes issue with the widely held view that Y-DNA R1a arrived in Europe as a result of a copper age expansion of Indo-Europeans into the regions of Europe where it is found today. Her post is a reaction specifically to a strong defense of this position in the comments to a recent Eurogenes blog post.
Linear Population Model is a no comments blog for the understandable reason that it takes too much time to moderate blog comments, so rather than posting comments there, I'll engage with some of the concerns raised by Marnie here at this blog.
Marine opens up the issue with this premise:
You may know that the Eurogenes blog (along with some very prominent researchers) has been heavily and stubbornly promoting the theory of a very sudden invasion of Europe during the Copper Age from either the Ponto-Caspian Steppe or the Central Asian Steppe.
After setting up the position expressed by Davidiski at the Eurogenes blog fairly accurately and discussing some other relevant data, Marnie gets to the bottom line issue he is raising:
So what's with thinking that R1 lineages were simply confined to the Central Eurasian steppe for 20,000 years (and not to Europe until the Copper age)?
There definitely is a shift of modern Europeans between the Mesolithic and today. I agree with that.
But I don't agree that the shift happened due only to replacement from the Ponto-Caspian or Central Eurasian Steppe and only during the Copper Age.
It's just as likely that the genetic shift of Europeans is due to Western Europeans fusing with populations of Finland, Scandinavia, the Baltic, Balkans (including Greece), Central Europe, the Ukraine, Russia, Anatolia, and the Levant, starting in the Mesolithic and continuing to the present day. It would have been a complex process, with waves of people possibly moving both in and out of the Steppe and in and out of Europe, since the R/Q/P split.
The most important data supporting the Eurogenes position come from several data sets of Central and Eastern European ancient DNA (e.g. Germany and Hungary).
Ancient DNA samples from this region cluster into three groups.
1. Samples that precede the Neolithic revolution (the Neolithic revolution begins when the first farmers appears in this part of Europe; this initial Neolithic archaeological culture is often called the "Linear Pottery Culture" or LBK for short) including Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic samples and also samples from European hunter-gatherer populations in the region (as determined based upon the archaeological context of the ancient DNA) who were contemporaneous with the first farmers of the region.
These samples are predominantly mtDNA U4 and U5, and the handful of autosomal samples that are available are very distinct from those of subsequent farming populations which derive only part of their ancestry from European hunter-gather like sources. There are very few pre-Neolithic European samples of ancient Y-DNA available, but all that are available are Y-DNA I2.
While there is a decent case that Southern Europe saw some enrichment in its mtDNA diversity in the Mesolithic era, I don't think that the case is nearly as strong for what became LBK cultural zone in the early Neolithic era.
2. Samples from farmers of the early Neolithic era (i.e. from the beginning of the LBK culture until roughly the start of the Corded Ware culture in the Copper Age).
These samples have a minor component of mtDNA haplogroups similar to those found in the Mesolithic era and among hunter-gatherers contemporaneous with them, but with many new mtDNA haplogroups that aren't found in older samples. The dominant Y-DNA haplogroup is G2.
3. Samples from the Copper Age (roughly coincident with the arrival of the Corded Ware culture) to the present in this region.
From the Copper Age onward, the ancient DNA strongly resembles the modern population genetics of the region. It is highly enriched in mtDNA haplogroup H relative to the early Neolithic where it was uncommon, or the Mesolithic era where mtDNA H was absent.
The frequency of Y-DNA G2 is dramatically reduced and Y-DNA I2 is also quite uncommon, while, Y-DNA R1a (and really a very specific subset of Y-DNA R1a which a most recent common ancestor estimated to date from the Copper Age by admittedly imperfect mutation rate dating methods) is predominant. In some regions, there is a blend of Y-DNA R1b (and again actually a specific European subset of R1b with similar estimate time depth), the predominant Y-DNA type of much of Western Europe and areas near the Southern Baltic Coast of Europe, near the biogeographic boundary between R1a predominance and R1b predominance that roughly corresponds to the historical ranges of the Bell Beaker people (or cultures in continuity with them) in the West, and with the Corded Ware people (or cultures in continuity with them) in the East, during the Copper and Bronze Ages in Continental Europe.
The limited ancient autosomal DNA fits this clustering with a shift from the LBK DNA profile towards the modern profile represented by a new ancestry component that is detected, appearing in ancient DNA starting around the Copper Age.
There is also Bronze Age ancient DNA and physical anthropology data showing genetic continuity and continuity in physical appearance and bone structure of people from the Corded Ware region of Europe all of the way to the Tarim Basin at the fringe of the East Asian highlands of greater China, where mummies reveal individuals who were Eastern European in their genes, coloration and bone structure, who we know spoke a long lost Indo-European language called Tocharian until around the time of an expansion of linguistically Altaic peoples across the Eurasian steppe all of the way to Europe itself.
Evidence from the time depth of language families in Europe also tends to support this analysis.
In the interests of not letting this post get too stale, I am posting it now. But, I hope to enrich it with additional links and references over the next few days.
UPDATE: A new ancient DNA find reported at Eurogenes appears to further support this hypothesis.
Labels: anthropology, Europe, genetics, history, language
terryt said...
For what it's worth: I agree completely with your analysis.
Maju said...
You may want to correct this: "Mesolithic samples (i.e. the first farmers in this part of Europe whose initial archaeological culture is often called the "Linear Pottery Culture" or LBK for short)". I'm aware that you know it's wrong, because it contradicts what you write immediately afterwards (and also because I know you know better).
"From the Copper Age onward, the ancient DNA strongly resembles the modern population genetics of the region.".
Isn't it from the Late Bronze Age onwards? We know nothing (AFAIK) from the Middle Bronze Age and Early Bronze Age samples like those from Unetice (some would place them still in the Late Chalcolithic but whatever) are still way off modern genetic pools, as are those from the Late Chalcolithic (or "Copper Age").
My impression is that in the Chalcolithic-Bronze transition the modern genetic pools were not fully formed in Germany (actually in the North-Central region of Germany, where more of the samples come from). This suggests a further process of blending among the various pools, which show some notable differences (some are high in mtDNA H, others lacking H, etc.)
Another issue is how much of what we know for those regions is extrapolable to the rest of Europe. For example I'd expect the genetic pool of Portugal to have changed only with the Celtic invasion of c. 700 BCE and not before (but lack data to confirm). Of many other regions we can say nearly nothing, including France, Britain, all Southern Spain, Italy, the Balcans...
Anyhow, I think that Marnie's criticism is well placed, at least in general terms. It's well known (at least to me) that Davidski has a bias on this matter and that he claims things that are at the very least hard to prove and that often clash with reputable studies on the matter as the recent one by Underhill et al., by which most of the R1a expansion does not seem at all related to Indoeuropeans (Central-East Europe may be the exception but not the rule).
I addressed your concern. The parenthetical was intended to modify the word Neolithic earlier in the sentence but I can see how it is unclear and substantially rewrote it.
I would expect the gene pool of Portugal to change a lot ca. 2900-2500 BCE (a big double digit percentage shift, although not as big as elsewhere due to incorporation of indigeneous populations in the expanding culture) and then change further only modestly ca. 700 BCE with the Celts (ca. 8% contribution).
There would certainly be some regional variation in amount and timing, but the broad outlines would be pretty similar up to a shift in regional timing roughly proportionate to effective travel distance suitably defined.
I think that the claim that significant R1 expansion (R1a or R1b) is taking place in Europe in the Mesolithic (aka Epipaleolithic) is not well supported at all by the available ancient DNA and reasonable inference from it, even though it might be plausible in the absence of ancient DNA data to contradict it. The Davidiski narrative fits with multiple lines of evidence (linguistic, modern population genetic, ancient DNA, archaeological) while there really isn't a comparable narrative to explain an earlier expansion that is consistent with the evidence.
"I would expect the gene pool of Portugal to change a lot ca. 2900-2500 BCE"
On what grounds? Do you spouse the "colonial" hypothesis for the rise of civilization in Iberia maybe?
I beg you to segregate your reasoning of R1a (recent Holocene expansion) and R1b (with a clearly older timeline and different centers and patterns). Making a parallel between R1a and R1b really don't makes any sense whatsoever: they are different animals. Anyhow the direct evidence we have for pre-Metal Y-DNA is yet very small and mostly restricted to Northern Europe (and if something we know is that Northern or Central European results can't be extrapolated to other regions).
Certainly, R1a and R1b expansions are different processes by different populations, although they are not that greatly separated in time and seem to be driven by quite similar technological advantages for the expanding populations that may even have a common source.
There was urban civilization in Iberia pre-Bell Beaker, but the technologies that appeared around then converted this civilization from a localized Southwestern Iberian phenomena to a more dynamic one that profoundly influenced a much larger region. I believe that these technologies arose because people from somewhere well to the east o Iberia brought R1b and the knowledge with them, mostly likely from somewhere between Georgia and Crete.
There may have been significant integration by this migrants into established Iberian civilization, both culturally (e.g. adopting some preexisting megalithic religious concepts) and in terms of migrants marrying local women. The extent of this is harder to measure, because mtDNA H that characterizes and is parallel to the R1b expansion was more widespread albeit at lower frequencies in earlier periods and because I don't have enough of a firm command of sub-phylogenies of mtDNA H (and many studies don't report sufficiently detailed subtyping) to get a clear enough picture. But, I have little doubt that the outsiders were the superstrate culture.
The pre-metal Y-DNA data points aren't really numerous, but there are enough Western European early Neolithic results that are uniform enough and similar enough to samples elsewhere (all Y-DNA G2a dominated), and enough Mesolithic/early Neolithic boundary hunter-gatherer Y-DNA samples (all I2 dominated), to make this scenario a pretty strongly favored hypothesis so far.
The strong correlation between early Neolithic autosomal DNA from all sources, and from Sardinia (which is not rich in R1b compared to Western Europe) is also quite powerful, and boosts the power of low sample sizes in a way that one can't for mtDNA to the same degree, although mtDNA X2 frequencies in Western Europe also support my hypothesis.
"R1a and R1b expansions are different processes by different populations, although they are not that greatly separated in time and seem to be driven by quite similar technological advantages for the expanding populations that may even have a common source".
What's your evidence for all this? I see absolutely nothing to back these conjectures.
Very especially the best scholarly age estimate to date for R1 is Underhill's and it implies that the expansion of R1a and R1b (surely several branches and several processes) are very much different and, above all, that R1b is much much older than R1a.
"There was urban civilization in Iberia pre-Bell Beaker, but the technologies that appeared around then converted this civilization from a localized Southwestern Iberian phenomena to a more dynamic one that profoundly influenced a much larger region".
Again I see nothing to back this. Megalithism is 2500 years older in parts of Iberia than Bell Beaker and in most of Europe it is some 1500 years older as well. The influence that can be tracked to Iberia (or wherever else in Atlantic Europe) is much older than Bell Beaker. Not just that, the key "technologies" that we find in BB such as copper metallurgy, architecture and archery are attested in SW Europe (and other places) long before BB. BB is a dynamic and colorful trade network or something like that but it's not that innovative in terms technological AFAIK but before BB there was Artenac and before Artenac there was already Zambujal and Los Millares, all of which continue in existence with BB. BB is so much hyped!
And you know why is that? Because earlier, when it was still possible that BB originated in Central Europe, it could arguably back an older IE expansion and that appealed (even beyond all reason) to certain people, who put feelings and prejudices before logic and evidence. Now the aura persists, even if BB can't anymore justify such ideas.
"The pre-metal Y-DNA data points aren't really numerous, but there are enough"...
They are clearly not enough at all. There's not a single sample from a Gokhem-like site: all are from Stuttgart-like sites (or in some cases older but only one West of the Rhine, which is not even I2 but something very odd: C1).
Marnie said...
"Marnie at the Linear Population Model blog takes issue with the widely held view that Y-DNA R1a arrived in Europe as a result of a copper age expansion of Indo-Europeans into the regions of Europe where it is found today."
1. What I said, based on evaluation of correlation in admixture components, is that the ANE component is not widely correlated with low level components associated with an archaic admixture process.
2. It is this archaic admixture process, and the low level admixture components associated with it, that primarily are the cause of the strong "eastward shift" on PCA plots of Europeans (with the exception of Basques and Sardinians.)
3. I then said that the archaic admixture components (that cause the eastward shift) are not widely correlated with the R1* ydna haplogroup.
4. There does appear to be a weak correlation between the eastward shifting archaic admixture components and the ydna R1a haplogroup.
5. There does appear to be a weak correlation between the eastward shifting archaic admixture components and the ydna N haplogroup.
5. There does *not* appear to be a correlation between the eastward shifting archaic admixture and the ydna R1b haplogroup.
That is the point of my article, which, for someone who claims to have a background in physics, shouldn't be lost on you.
@Marnie: by "archaic eastward shift" you mean ANE and Eastern Asian genetics, i.e. an "archaic" (ancient pre-UP for the largest part) within Eurasian H. sapiens, right? Otherwise (if you mean for example Neanderthal or Denisovan admixture) I fail to make sense of your words.
@Maju
First of all, ANE is a component that comes up in the software package Admixture.
Depending on which populations you choose for your Admixture run, components associated with Northern Europeans will vary.
So the definition of ANE is rather tenuous.
In the Lazarides paper, "Ancient North Eurasian" is labeled on the PCA plot (Figure 1B).
http://biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2013/12/23/001552.full.pdf
Closest cousins to the labeled ANE point on the plot are the MA1 and AG2 ancient DNA samples, and then modern groups like Finns, Mordovians, Russians and Ukrainians.
On an Admixture run, (for instance Rasmussen et al, 2014)
http://www.linearpopulationmodel.blogspot.com/2015/01/ancient-north-eurasians-north-south.html
Mordvinians, Russians, and Ukrainians show two major components, for K=10, 11. There are also minor components.
On the Rasmussen run in this paper, the major components are shown in dark blue and green.
Note that Orcadians and French (far left) also have these two components in almost the same combination as Ukrainians, Russians and Mordovinians.
The main difference is that Ukrainians, Russians and Mordovinians have low level components associated with groups in Northeast Asia. (for example Chukchi's, Yakuts).
The "ANE" component that Davidski is referring to appears to be the green component on the Rasmussen et al. admixture run.
Note that the Mordovinians, Russians and Ukrainians pull toward MA1 and the Ancient North Eurasians on the Lazarides PCA.
The French much less so.
So it cannot be argued that the "ANE" component is uniformly associated with the shift toward the MA1 ancient DNA on PCA plots.
It has to be something else that is causing the "shift" and that something else is low level admixture of these Northeast Asian components.
Again, at some point, this low level components became incorporated in Mordovinians, Russians and Ukrainians (and also Maris, Finns and the Chuvash).
However, this low level is not correlated with R1b dominant populations.
Like I said, it does appear to be loosely associated with R1a and N ydna haplogroup populations.
In short, Maju, regarding your comment "archaic eastward shift" you mean ANE and Eastern Asian genetics":
The "shift" is from Northeast Asian gene flow, which is only loosely associated with some, but not all, populations that have the green component shown on the Rasmussen et al. admixture run.
ANE es Mal'ta 1, no un componente zombie. The definition is not at all "tenuous" but just the generalizing extrapolation of affinity with Ma1 (call it "paleo-Siberian", I like it better in fact). And that is particularly clear in Lazaridis' paper.
I believe that Davidski sticks to this definition but prove me wrong. It is not the Indo-Afgan "green" component in the Rasmunssen graph you mention, not at all. The modern population closest to ANE are Kets, although these are seldom used in such analyses (not sure the reason), then come Native Americans and only then the tenuously admixed populations of Eastern Europe (and maybe other parts of Eurasia).
"... it cannot be argued that the "ANE" component is uniformly associated with the shift toward the MA1 ancient DNA on PCA plots".
There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here (in your interpretation or in Davidski's usage, unsure) but in any case I would indeed appreciate if ANE/Ma1 is replaced in the near future by a more realistic proxy of the origin of that admixture: Yamna.
This is why we are all eagerly awaiting the Reich/Patterson new paper.
"The "shift" is from Northeast Asian gene flow"...
Not so simple: analysis of Siberian genetics show that ANE (Ma1, AG) is "intermediate" between Europe/West Asia and Native Americans, that it has no relation with core East Asia and that Siberians themselves form clines between these three polarities.
→ http://forwhattheywereweare.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-malta-adna-findings.html
You're missing this issue: there's nothing that we can clearly call "NE Asian": it's very blurry and clinally diverse.
From the European point of view, there are two Siberian polarities: one tending to Ma1 and therefore to Kets and Native Americans and the other (more restricted to some specific populations like Uralics) tending to core East Asians (Chinese, Koreans, etc.) These are two different influences that only very slightly overlap.
Erratum: "ANE es Mal'ta 1, no un componente zombie" should be in English: "ANE is Mal'ta 1, not a zombie "component"".
I need some coffee, heh!
"ANE es Mal'ta 1, no un componente zombie. The definition is not at all "tenuous" but just the generalizing extrapolation of affinity with Ma1 (call it "paleo-Siberian", I like it better in fact). And that is particularly clear in Lazaridis' paper."
It is not clearly defined in the Lazarides paper (2013). You really can't tell from the PCA what "ANE" is specifically associated with.
As you know, MA1 had R1* type ydna.
However, this does not mean that all R1* downstream shares this "Ancient North Eurasian" affinity.
Regarding which component "ANE" is connected to, and Davidski's and Lazarides' analysis, you're right. It is not clear what they mean by "ANE".
Instead of posting PCA plots, I'd like to see an Admixture run like the one in the Rasmussen et al paper.
That would clear up a lot of the confusion.
ANE is described clearly in Lazaridis et al. as Mal'ta-1, exactly the same as EEF is Stuttgart and WHG is Lochsbour. This may be a pro or a con but there is no doubt: all analysis are done with these three ancient samples as references and very particularly the so-called "fateful triangle".
"As you know, MA1 had R1* type ydna".
Yes but 2/3 of West and South Eurasia also have some sort of R1 or related lineages (R2, Q, P1*) so I don't think it's very important. Some people are emphasizing, even truly hyping, this detail but I tend to totally ignore it, more so when the most ANE populations worldwide today are not R1 carriers, but Q1 carriers instead, and when I postulate that these lineages spread around all West Eurasia (including Central Asia and beyond into NE Siberia, etc.) within the Early Upper Paleolithic. It's just normal, fully within my expectations, that Mal'ta carried P-something and the only thing that informs us of is that my model of P expansion is very plausible, as R1 was already formed c. 24 Ka ago (and probably some 10 Ka earlier as well, or even more).
"ANE is described clearly in Lazaridis et al. as Mal'ta-1"
OK. If that's the definition you want to use, here is a link to a Figure from the Kostenki 14 paper, which shows an Admixture run with K14, MA1, Loschbour, Gok2, Iceman and Stuttgart.
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2014/11/genome-of-kostenki-14-upper-paleolithic.html
MA1 has five major components:
Hunter-Gatherer (about 25%)
America (about 15%)
South Asia (about 15%)
Siberia (about 5%)
Central Asia (about 20%)
K14:
America (< 2%)
East Asia (< 2%)
Siberia (< 3%)
Middle East (about 10%)
Africa (about 5%)
Locshbour:
Gok2:
In Europeans today, there are no Europeans look anything like MA1 on an Admixture run. The "South Asian", "American" and "Siberian" components appear at the less than about 2% in all Europeans, with the exception of a few populations like Finns, Mordovians, some Russians and the Chuvash. In those cases, the "South Asian", "American" and "Siberian" components are less than about 5%.
So, at most, an MA1 like population could not have contributed to Western Europeans at more than about the 4% level.
"all analysis are done with these three ancient samples as references and very particularly the so-called "fateful triangle". "
So, Davidski should put up an Admixture run with the "Fateful triangle" populations. That will clarify how much an ANE type population (as defined as being MA1 like) could have contributed to the populations of Europe.
I'm quite confident that it will be a lot less than he is implying.
"Yes but 2/3 of West and South Eurasia also have some sort of R1 or related lineages (R2, Q, P1*) so I don't think it's very important."
Well, it's important if you are trying to argue for a very specific timeframe for the contribution of this "ANE" population to Europeans.
R1 and R2 split a long time ago. Before MA1.
Davidski and David Reich are trying to use MA1 to infer a very specific timeframe for the contribution of an MA1 like population to Europeans.
First, the contribution of an MA1 like population is much less than they suggest.
Second, you're right to suggest that there were probably R* and Q carrying population in Central Asia, West Asia, India, Siberia and even Eastern Europe at the time of MA1. These population probably carried different variations of the admixture components we see in K14 and MA1.
So, a lot of autosomal variation for R* and Q carriers.
That's my central point.
We can't infer that all R* carriers had autosomal components that all looked exactly like MA1.
So too much is being inferred from this assumed "Ancient North Eurasian" population.
Marnie: Ma1 and K14 are (because of their age) around half way the divergence between West and East Eurasians. Hence I'd expect them to be about just 2/3 like West Eurasians, the rest being reflection of their not-so-distant relation with the common Eurasian roots.
And if you look at supp. fig. 20 in that paper you see something like that at K=3-5, which are the depths showing the continental scale differences. At K=5 for example K14 appears as 2/3 West Eurasian (bingo!) and 1/3 other affiliations, mostly Australasian (Papuan). Ma1 is rather like 1/2 West Eurasian, 1/4 Native American and 1/4 Australasian, showing almost no other affiliations at all.
The Papuan affiliation can be explained maybe by the origin of Y-DNA K and mtDNA N in SE Asia (to be researched) and the NA affiliation makes total sense because their Altai UP ancestors were at the origin of the Q1 migration eastwards some millennia earlier.
You can butcher the components further but doesn't give us any more information in fact. Maybe you can speculate about that African extra in K14 being "Basal Eurasian" or whatever but little more.
You can't also reverse-engineer the ADMIXTURE analysis as you try to. It won't work because the results are sample-dependent and ancient samples are not causing them but rather "suffering" them.
You can indeed run a "supervised" Admixture run with some of those ancient samples as the fixed references and then you'd get the results you want. Something like that but even more refined was done by Lazaridis et al. It's all over the paper (and supp. materials, which you can't afford not to read if you want to be critical) but a simple example can be seen in this graph (notice that PC2 is not at all as large as PC1 but I don't know the exact correction to be made so left it as found).
"So, Davidski should put up an Admixture run with the "Fateful triangle" populations."
That's already done with more refined means by Lazaridis et al. (again in the supp. materials). Feel free to ask him anyhow. ANE ranges specifically from 5% in Sardinians and 10% in Basques to 18% in Estonians and 17% in Scots.
"Well, it's important if you are trying to argue for a very specific timeframe for the contribution of this "ANE" population to Europeans."
ONLY if you happen to believe like Davidski that somehow Ma1 and R1 are casually related, not if you believe as I do that it's mere coincidence and even maybe a reflection of R1 or R1b expansion to Europe (let's not forget that Ma1 is Gravettian, just like Crô-Magnon 1 and other of the earliest European remains).
"R1 and R2 split a long time ago. Before MA1".
Before Ma1 necessarily, yes. So what? It's not like it is ancestral to R1a or R1b, it's just another random R1-nothing of the kind you find in Pakistan and nearby areas. It's a symptom, not a cause of anything. A symptom of the overall westward expansion of P1 from ~ Bengal, a symptom of the human wave from Sundaland that eventually triggered the Upper Paleolithic in West or Central Asia and so dramatically replaced Neanderthals in their territory.
"Davidski and David Reich are trying to use MA1 to infer a very specific timeframe for the contribution of an MA1 like population to Europeans."
Well, that can be inferred from the level of affinity (%ANE) in ancient samples, so it's a legitimate goal and one that should clarify the Indoeuropean intrusion in most of Europe, where it's more and more obviously that is exotic.
"First, the contribution of an MA1 like population is much less than they suggest."
Possibly but WHY? I find extremely difficult to properly estimate the levels of ANE ex-novo penetration without enough ancient samples. Which is the baseline reference? Basques, Sardinians, Stuttgart, Bologna or Motala? Very likely it's different in each region, so I request more more ancient samples from before and after IE intrusion in each region.
"We can't infer that all R* carriers had autosomal components that all looked exactly like MA1."
Not at all: that's like sampling some random guy from Dublin and concluding that Chadic peoples and Uyghurs all look like the Irish just because they also have R1b. That R1 from Altai is no doubt just one among many that already prowled the western half of Eurasia at that same time, surely including some R1b even (although not yet R1a - but certainly its remote ancestor).
"So too much is being inferred from this assumed "Ancient North Eurasian" population."
Davidski is no doubt and some of his followers maybe but that's far from being a generalization.
Returning to the central point, I look forward to seeing an admixture run from Davidski and David Reich showing K14, MA1, and any ancient DNA they are using to make inferences, along with modern populations.
Without that, we can't even get to square one with inferences about movements of MA1 like populations into Europe. Not in the Upper Paleolithic. Not in the Mesolithic and not in the Neolithic.
capra internetensis said...
MA-1 did not have R1*, he had R*, on another branch from R1'2 even. Probably his patrilineage split from that of surviving R more than 5 thousand years earlier.
Our really old aDNA necessarily comes from cold places like Siberia, so we are also in the dark about where else these components were present - Siberia could be quite peripheral.
Given its present distribution ANE presumably *was* widespread through Siberia, but R1 need not have been until very recently.
@capra internetensis
"MA-1 did not have R1*, he had R*, on another branch from R1'2 even. Probably his patrilineage split from that of surviving R more than 5 thousand years earlier. "
from this paper:
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/12/13/molbev.msu327.full.pdf+html
"Structure within the West Eurasian hg R: The TMRCA of hg R is 19ka, and within both hgs R1a and R1b comprise young star like expansions"
see the tree in the supplementary data.
From the TMRCA and the tree, the R1a/b split can be framed, timewise, between 19ka and about 15ka.
Later that 15ka is unlikely for the R1a/b split (if the tree in the supplementary data is correct.)
"Given its present distribution ANE presumably *was* widespread through Siberia, but R1 need not have been until very recently."
I doubt that the R1/R2 split occurred very recently.
Anyway, it's pointless to debate it. I'm sure better dates for the R1/R2 and R1a/R1b splits will be out soon.
My main point, made in previous comments in this thread, is that it is very sloppy to be inferring the R1* hg autosomal signature from the Mal'ta autosomal signature.
You can't infer what R1 hg rich, R1b hg rich, or R1a rich populations looked like autosomally from the Mal'ta sample.
Also, these populations probably evolved over time.
Currently, there are no R hg ancient DNA samples after Mal'ta (until the Iron Age).
Very sloppy to be making grand inferences from such a sparse and uncertain set of data.
The fact that this kind of garbage continues to be published in journals such as Nature speaks to fact that Nature is turning into a pseudo-scientific rag.
@Capra: Good observation. I have (for the first time) carefully read SI5 in Raghavan 2013 and they do seem to even place it at a pre-R now extinct branch. There's no such thing as R1-2 today: that's R; so if Ma1's lineage does not reach at the split point the modernly defined R node (even if it is close to it), it should be described as P1* or, if you wish, pre-R (as it is clearly in the branch leading to R and not to Q or other P1* branches).
However its own private drift (see fig SI 5a) suggests that R and R1 were already developed.
Re. R1b I'm comparing that figure with the partly similar one of Underhill 2014 (fig. 5) and I'm not sure what exactly is called R1b in Raghavan's figure. It's certainly not R1b-M343 but either R1b-141 or (most likely) R1b-M412, which are further derived subsets. I'd need to check the references used (all NA-something but one labeled "reference") but I will here assume that it's R1b-412, which is the main European branch.
So my impression with this comparison is that Ma1's chronology (24 Ka BP) is 2/3 towards present between the R and R1b-M412 nodes. So R1b-M343 was already formed back then (this is true even if I replace M412 by S141, the difference is not game-changing). R1b (as such: M343) therefore MUST be some 30-40 Ka old (very roughly). However the observable European expansion is more recent (maybe 15 Ka BP).
Take your time and refine these hurried estimates but what is apparent from those graphs is that, chronologically speaking, Ma1 lived in a time when R1b-M343 had already coalesced. The formation of its main sublineages R1b1c-V88 and R1b1a-L320 is probable also but less clear (for lack of data). He also lived in a time prior to the R1b-M412 expansion in Europe - which seems to be of Magdalenian or (less likely) later chronology (but always quite older than the R1a one).
"I doubt that the R1/R2 split occurred very recently."
Certainly not: in Raghavan's fig. SI 5a is totally clear that it is much older than the lifetime of Ma1. However we don't know if R2 as we know it today (M479) had coalesced yet (it's a poorly researched haplogroup).
R1 at the very least had coalesced already as well, meaning that the R1a/R1b split had also happened too.
I have just argued that R1b must also have coalesced by that time, however this was not yet the derived branches we see today in Europe apparently. These lineages formed later and I'm chewing on the implications, because if you think that Neolithic is too recent a date, then one must consider Magdalenian being original from West Asia, and that is difficult to argue for (not totally impossible however).
"Currently, there are no R hg ancient DNA samples after Mal'ta (until the Iron Age)."
There is one but doesn't help much either: recently it was announced informally (at a commentary in another publication, unpublished data) that some Afanasevo burials have R1a(xZ93), what the commenter argued it shows a European origin of this culture. The study will be published soon, I understand.
It does give a minimum age for the R1a node of at least 6000 years (surely more) but still the irregularity of full sequence drift-parameter at modern branches implies that the "molecular clock" is hard to apply at such nearby chronologies, even with full chromosome data, still leaving a very narrow window for the possibility of European R1b being of Neolithic origin. The window is becoming extremely narrow, so, together with other evidence (geostructure of European R1b fits better with Late UP expansion, greater WHG parameter in Gokhem), I lean towards the Magdalenian/Epipaleolithic chronology.
But we need more data to be safe, really.
PS- What is clear is that European R1b has nothing to do with IE (Kurgan) expansion. It's necessarily older than that (and shows a negative cline towards the IE homeland, where it basically does not exist at all nor has any diversity worth mentioning). The lack of R1b findings among early Neolithic sequences make it look rather pre-Neolithic as well (re-expanding surely within Megalithism from Atlantic "refugia").
I can't agree strong enough with the statement that "European R1b has nothing to do with IE (Kurgan) expansion" and also
"The window is becoming extremely narrow, so, together with other evidence (geostructure of European R1b fits better with Late UP expansion".
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
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text:
Royal Family News – Former Royal Chef Claims Prince Harry Was Always Going to Try and Break Free
By Alexander Gates On Dec 3, 2022
Royal Family news reveals that Prince Harry was always going to "try and break free" from the grip of The Firm. At least that's how a former royal pastry chef puts it. Read on and we'll give you the low down.
Royal Family News: Royal Split was Only a Matter of Time for Prince Harry
Royal Family news reveals that, according to Marie Claire, a former palace staff member, has said that whether he ever met Meghan Markle or not, the Duke of Sussex was always planning a break from the Royal Family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent shockwaves throughout the monarchy when they decided to step down from their positions as senior royals in 2020. Now, former royal patisserie chef Fiona Burton is saying that, for Harry, it was only a matter of time.
Prince Harry Always Yearned for Independence
"I think it was always going to happen with Harry, to be honest," said Burton, who worked in the royal household around the year 2000 (via Slingo). "He was always the one who would rebel growing up and in the tabloids. I do wonder if things were done on purpose, and I wouldn't know if that was true.
"It didn't surprise me [when he left] because out of all of them he was going to be the one who would try and break free. I don't think it's got anything to do with who he has married. That's him and he's got a strong streak in him that has this independence and doesn't want to be tied down to royalty, whereas his brother is completely different. William is more like his dad."
Burton then pointed to Harry's more relaxed demeanor, saying, "He was the one who would laugh the most. He was a bit comical and always reminded me of his grandad."
Finding Freedom isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be
After stepping away from royal life in 2020 the Sussexes moved to the US and to Markle's home state of California. Royal biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand both described the move for Harry as "finding freedom." However, life on the other side of the pond hasn't been all peaches and cream for the royal couple.
The Sussexes have been all but shut out from their British relatives – a snubbing that began to take shape following the couple's bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021. There have been efforts from both Britain and the US to mend the haggard relationship that Harry and his wife Meghan have with the rest of the family but, to this point, those efforts have been for naught.
Be sure and stay up to speed on this and other royally related stories. Return here often for more Royal family news and updates.
Royal Family News: Queen Camilla Hosts Royals from Around the Globe at Special Palace Reception
Royal Family News: Boston Gears Up for Imminent Prince William and Kate Middleton Visit


text:
package org.apache.shindig.social.core.util.xstream;

import com.google.inject.Injector;

import com.thoughtworks.xstream.converters.ConversionException;
import com.thoughtworks.xstream.converters.Converter;
import com.thoughtworks.xstream.converters.MarshallingContext;
import com.thoughtworks.xstream.converters.UnmarshallingContext;
import com.thoughtworks.xstream.io.ExtendedHierarchicalStreamWriterHelper;
import com.thoughtworks.xstream.io.HierarchicalStreamReader;
import com.thoughtworks.xstream.io.HierarchicalStreamWriter;
import com.thoughtworks.xstream.mapper.Mapper;

import org.apache.shindig.social.opensocial.model.Exportablebean;

import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Iterator;

/**
 *
 */
public class GuiceBeanConverter implements Converter {
  private Mapper mapper;
  private GuiceBeanProvider beanProvider;

  public GuiceBeanConverter(Mapper mapper, Injector injector) {
    this(mapper, new GuiceBeanProvider(injector));
  }

  public GuiceBeanConverter(Mapper mapper, GuiceBeanProvider beanProvider) {
    this.mapper = mapper;
    this.beanProvider = beanProvider;
  }

  /**
   * Only checks for the availability of a public default constructor. If you
   * need stricter checks, subclass JavaBeanConverter
   */
  public boolean canConvert(Class type) {
    if (Object.class.equals(type)) {
      return false;
    }
    for (Class<?> iff : type.getInterfaces()) {
      if (iff.isAnnotationPresent(Exportablebean.class)) {
        return true;
      }
    }
    return canConvert(type.getSuperclass());
  }

  public void marshal(final Object source,
      final HierarchicalStreamWriter writer, final MarshallingContext context) {
    beanProvider.visitSerializableProperties(source,
        new GuiceBeanProvider.Visitor() {
          public boolean shouldVisit(String name, Class<?> definedIn) {
            return mapper.shouldSerializeMember(definedIn, name);
          }

          public void visit(String propertyName, Class<?> fieldType,
              Class<?> definedIn, Object newObj) {
            if (newObj != null) {
              Mapper.ImplicitCollectionMapping mapping = mapper
                  .getImplicitCollectionDefForFieldName(source.getClass(),
                      propertyName);
              if (mapping != null) {
                if (mapping.getItemFieldName() != null) {
                  Collection<?> list = (Collection<?>) newObj;
                  for (Iterator<?> iter = list.iterator(); iter.hasNext();) {
                    Object obj = iter.next();
                    writeField(propertyName, mapping.getItemFieldName(),
                        mapping.getItemType(), definedIn, obj);
                  }
                } else {
                  context.convertAnother(newObj);
                }
              } else {
                writeField(propertyName, propertyName, fieldType, definedIn,
                    newObj);
              }
            }
          }

          private void writeField(String propertyName, String aliasName,
              Class<?> fieldType, Class<?> definedIn, Object newObj) {
            ExtendedHierarchicalStreamWriterHelper.startNode(writer, mapper
                .serializedMember(source.getClass(), aliasName), fieldType);
            context.convertAnother(newObj);
            writer.endNode();

          }
        });
  }

  public Object unmarshal(final HierarchicalStreamReader reader,
      final UnmarshallingContext context) {
    final Object result = instantiateNewInstance(context);

    while (reader.hasMoreChildren()) {
      reader.moveDown();

      String propertyName = mapper.realMember(result.getClass(), reader
          .getNodeName());

      boolean propertyExistsInClass = beanProvider.propertyDefinedInClass(
          propertyName, result.getClass());

      if (propertyExistsInClass) {
        Class<?> type = determineType(reader, result, propertyName);
        Object value = context.convertAnother(result, type);
        beanProvider.writeProperty(result, propertyName, value);
      } else if (mapper.shouldSerializeMember(result.getClass(), propertyName)) {
        throw new ConversionException("Property '" + propertyName
            + "' not defined in class " + result.getClass().getName());
      }

      reader.moveUp();
    }

    return result;
  }

  private Object instantiateNewInstance(UnmarshallingContext context) {
    Object result = context.currentObject();
    if (result == null) {
      result = beanProvider.newInstance(context.getRequiredType());
    }
    return result;
  }

  private Class<?> determineType(HierarchicalStreamReader reader,
      Object result, String fieldName) {
    final String classAttributeName = mapper.attributeForAlias("class");
    String classAttribute = reader.getAttribute(classAttributeName);
    if (classAttribute != null) {
      return mapper.realClass(classAttribute);
    } else {
      return mapper.defaultImplementationOf(beanProvider.getPropertyType(
          result, fieldName));
    }
  }

  /**
   * @deprecated since 1.3
   */
  public static class DuplicateFieldException extends ConversionException {
    public DuplicateFieldException(String msg) {
      super(msg);
    }
  }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Pokemon camilla nackt
Pokemon camilla nackt. Camilla Belle Porn Videos 2019-05-13
Pokemon camilla nackt Rating: 8,8/10 533 reviews
5 Schauspieler
The trio join Cynthia and travel to the Spear Pillar in order to put a stop to Cyrus's ambitions. Then luck be with you, young Trainer! Giratina was written as being on the other side of our world. An interesting idea, don't you agree? The circle in the middle is Arceus, the origin of it all. He's more impatient than energetic, isn't he? There's no need for words then. She then mentioned that she was just like Paul in her youth, determined to win with the strongest Pokémon.
Pokemon Porn Comics
I do want our Pokémon to have a match. Later, she appears at the as the. This name also refers to the Greek goddess , who is associated with the moon, which may be a parallel to , whose name refers to the sun. You've had a chance to get ready? If the player has an Arceus with a marker or from the when they visit the , the player will be teleported to the Sinjoh Ruins. Here, Ash was reunited with for the first time since his journey in Sinnoh. When you and your Pokémon step onto that stage, something will happen.
Pokemon Cynthia Porn Videos
It appeared along with her at Spear Pillar. A long time ago, I wonder what sort of person painted this? Did we just witness the very moment an Egg was brought to this world? She will always lead with her signature Pokémon,. In , Cynthia appears in , where she defeats and Giratina with a fully-mastered Draco Meteor. Would you care to be my opponent? Your horizons will expand again if you visit the Fight Area as well. Where Pokémon and the people around them can be happy for each other.
The portal where Giratina was should lead back to our world. And there are several odd pits on the floor. When you're ready, come and talk to me. I'm sorry this is so long. I'm sorry, and thank you.
I think it's good that our world is constantly changing. In Black and White, she speaks about a who defeated her, and mentions that Trainer defeated , referring to the events of Platinum. If you're interested, there is a library in. If you succeed in doing either, Giratina will understand. She told Ash, and about the , where she would have an exhibition match.
Ash and his friends commented that while Aaron was strong enough to be a member of the , Cynthia was still far stronger than him. I'll be happy to see you. I was just thinking out loud. Pokémon Lucario only appears in a flashback alongside its Trainer. Now free, Dialga and Palkia combine their powers to defeat Cyrus and stop the distortions affecting Sinnoh. In and , Cynthia helped Ash and his friends protect the and put a stop to Team Galactic at.
Camilla Belle Porn Videos
There is a group of Psyduck huddled with their heads in their, uh, hands. Though the is set in an alternate continuity from the main anime, director has repeatedly confirmed that the woman isn't Cynthia. It's said to lurk in another world. History Cynthia first appears in. She battled Cyrus and his Pokémon in the Celestic Ruins but he managed to outsmart her and use her moves against her for his own gain.
And inside that island is a mirage of a Pokémon. If the player returns to the Sinjoh Ruins with another Arceus that doesn't have the same origin as the one they used the first time , they will be informed that Cynthia has returned to Sinnoh, and the event will run without her. I'll be sure to remember that name! As she heads out of the building, Cynthia comes across Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, who had fought Team Galactic to free from their clutches. But there are a lot of things to investigate in Sinnoh, as well. Debut Voice actors Japanese English Cynthia has at least three other Pokémon, as she participated in in the against , , and , and she also had a Full Battle against.


Of course, legal competency has a great many definitions and involves many elements but it ordinarily refers to the ability of an attorney to handle the legal issues involved in client representation. A gross simplification would generally say that this consists of three parts: an understanding of the legal environment (the courts and the legal system), the actual law as it is written, and the ability to manage these two elements toward a successful representation. None of this actually addresses the issues involved in systems and management, nor does it necessarily involve the ability of lawyers to work with others in the legal services delivery team (other lawyers and staff).
To further complicate the picture being drawn, a well documented American Bar Association Study found that the attitudes of the client toward their attorneys were quite different from what one might very well believe to be the case. In a large and fairly representative sampling, clients were found to believe that the most important thing involved in their representation was the sense that the lawyer "cared" about the outcome. In some cases this seemed to overshadow even the actual result of the representation. This brings another factor into play and that is the quality of the communication between lawyer and client. Certainly, communication is NOT one of the subjects involved in most (if any) law school curriculums.
Lawyers who have suffered professional liability claims often protest their innocence in terms that they themselves can understand but which are real "give-aways" as to the issues involved. They might say that the problem was in the difficulty working with a particular client (client choice), the inability of the client to understand the actual circumstances of the representation (communication), the changes in the law that caused an unexpected conclusion (legal errors), the failure of the client to pay for the services rendered, or a host of other factors. In fact, as these statistics demonstrate, the actual advices given may be spot on. In another time or place or with a different client circumstance there would have been no difficulty involved in the representation. In this particular circumstance, however, things didn't proceed as they might have and it resulted in a claim of professional liability.
The message to lawyers who seek to avoid such circumstances is therefore to look for, and try to control the ancillary factors involved in representation. These are the things never taught in law school: the need to create (and have signed) a binding contract; the need to spell out the issues for the client in writing beforehand so that there is no possibility of confusion or misunderstanding; the need to ask for help from a colleague when undertaking representation; the need to train and have trained lawyers and staff in the office; the need and the ability to manage time and to manage the client. The list of matters to understand and address is long indeed. What is most important, however, is the understanding that to avoid professional liability claims there is more than generally understood "legal competency" involved. It involves an overall understanding of the law practice, the clients and most importantly, an ability to marshal both the legal aspects of the file as well as the pragmatic operational principles to keep your practice safe and secure.